Perth’s “Secret Garden” is one such place, located in a relatively small wetland area in the City of Stirling you could easily drive past this place without ever guessing what was hidden on the other side of a seemingly impenetrable wall of 20′ high bamboo.

Even knowing where it was we still took a while to work out how to get inside, but when we did we were totally blown away.

The entrance is over a makeshift bridge which crosses a small stream at one end of the wetland. The stream, which runs along the length of the “Secret Garden”, was pretty full when we went there in February and I’ve heard that the whole area can be very wet underfoot in the winter months.

What gives the “Secret Garden” it’s incredible fairy tale / fantasy world feeling is the way the flora and much of the ground has been completely overgrown by a beautifully smooth green blanket of creeping vines.

From what we have read the “Secret Garden” can get a bit busy on the weekends so if you really want to get the best experience I would recommend visiting during the week as we did. When we arrived it was completely empty allowing for us to capture some great, people free, images 😎

People have mentioned that they have seen a lot of rubbish littered around the “Secret Garden” from the increased number of visitors but we saw very little so I can only assume that someone is cleaning it up regularly ?

Cheers,Dave

Photo Tips

I’ll post more detailed tips for taking great photos in the “Secret Garden” as a future part of this set of posts but here are a few quick tips to get you started:

Get Out of Auto ModeTo get good photos in a place like the “Secret Garden” you will need to dump all those auto modes your camera seduces you with and switch to full manual or aperture priority mode.

Shoot RAWIf your camera supports RAW format images then you will have much more flexibility when post processing your images. RAW images are like the old 35mm negatives, whereas jpeg’s created by your camera are more like Polaroids.

Expose to the RightWhat this means is always set your exposure for the brightest area in the scene as overexposed highlights are generally unrecoverable unlike underexposed shadows.

Keep Your ISO as Low as PossibleThe balance between Shutter Speed, Aperture & ISO is always a judgement call. For landscapes a good process to follow is

Set your required aperture for the depth of field

Determine the required shutter speed depending on the lense you are using and whether or not you are using a tripod

Select the lowest ISO to achieve the required shutter speed while minimising noise

Get Good Photo Editing SoftwareWhen shooting in manual or aperture priority mode you will need to post process your images to get the most out of them. Software tools such as Adobe Lightroom & On1 Photo 10.5 are affordable and essential for getting the best out of your photos.

Free trials are available for both Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop & ON1 Photo 10.5 at the following links:

“Secret Garden” Clothing & Photo Products

MAD About WA inspired Secret Garden 2 Scarf from Lake Careniup, Perth designed by Dave Catley and available from our MADCAT RedBubble Store

Environmental Issues

When visiting natural environments such as this please be respectful of the flora and fauna, take your litter home and treat the environment with respect.

Leave No Trace
Take Nothing but Pictures
Leave Nothing but Footprints
Kill Nothing but Time
Keep Nothing But Memories
Burn Nothing but Calories

Original Quotes
“Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.”
~ Quote: Chief Seattle (Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief, c. 1786 – June 7, 1866)
“This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.”
~ Quote: Chief Seattle (Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief, c. 1786 – June 7, 1866)
“We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.”
~ Australian Aboriginal Proverb